


Favorite

by bled



Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 07:16:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18734227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bled/pseuds/bled
Summary: Archer thinks his master is an odd one.





	Favorite

**Author's Note:**

> This is a bit self-inserty so the beginning refers to my having bought an account and the 'dream' refers to the trial quest "Search for the Song of the Gods". 
> 
> Please don't take the setting too seriously, a lot of this is just unrealistic wish fulfillment. I'm no writer and know very little about Fate. I'm also still beginning to read the Mahabharata at this time.
> 
> If this is enjoyable in the smallest way, I'll be happy.  
> 

He held some reservations about the masters he had had this summoning, one selling him and another buying him. 

Regardless, standing in his new master's room, he says, "Yes, my only pleasure is serving faithfully."  
That is what is most proper.

The other servants giggle at the archer and call him the favorite. He comes and goes from his master's room at will. He is even allowed to take the bed there, while the master sits on the floor to speak to him... So casual is he.

And when the other servants ask if the master has 'tried anything', he just smiles and says no. If he tries to share the bed, the master scurries out of it, wide-eyed.

The young man seems aware of the implications, perhaps overly so.

But the master still asked for his presence in his room, so the archer knows what the other servants said is true.

He could tell his master was still nervous around him and would continue to avert his gaze for some time. Even so, the servant would catch the young man staring at him in amazement almost constantly.

The two of them were still at the start of their acquaintance, so it was beyond him why he would be the master's favorite. He admits as much to the others in his contemplation. They share a knowing look with each other, cheeks fit to burst with laughter.

\---

Later on, he experiences his first 'death' in battle. Excruciating.

He collapses and groans out a curse. By chance, he looks over to his master before fading, annoyed by the failure of his command.

The master is shocked. He looks helpless at the sound of his servant's strained voice.

This only serves to make him feel worse as he dies, both more annoyed at his master's weakness and... not wanting to see that expression again. 

It wasn't necessary in the first place, he thinks to himself, somewhere in the ether. The master had other servants who could finish the job.

He turns out to be wrong, however. They all die and the young man is left alone on the battlefield, staring at his interface empty of command cards.

The next time he resurfaces, he is alive again, full of energy, and so are his comrades. He spots the master kneeling on the ground praying to a colorful saint quartz, which dissolves as he opens his eyes in delight.

They finish the battle easily using the archer's noble phantasm.

He later realizes that the others are underleveled compared to him.

\---

The master is considerate of him and the others.

But he gets the impression that the young man thinks he's stressed or stuffy. There's nothing wrong with being formal... He's simply acting dutifully. He answers the master's roundabout questions saying as much.

The master - who is much too casual and laidback and allows his new servant access to his quarters. 

...He should act with a bit more strength or pride. He's much too friendly as well.

The servant sips his cup of tea, comfortable.

"We should go on an outing sometime..."  
The master offers, blowing at his own cup.  
"Just for fun."

Whatever you would like to do, thinks his servant. Make your decision.

The master gives him blazing stars to go with his tea, then falls asleep on the sofa, quiet.

\---

He can't hide it forever, though he desperately wished he could.

Another master had summoned Karna and the archer thought of ways to put him in the ground. This brought a grin to his face that stretched from ear to ear. Not a dignified look, but he couldn't stop.

As laughter bubbled in his throat, the master intruded.

"How sad... I regret that you had to see me looking that way. Please don't tell anyone."

He thinks he might kill his master over the darkness inside him. That scares him but won't stop him.

"Are you thinking about killing the Karna we saw?" The master asks.

His servant is surprised at this. He had not yet confided anything about his past.

"We met before in a dream." The master explains.

Now the servant is puzzled. How does that explain anything?

"I'll tell you what I told you before: it's okay to hate him. You're 'mortal enemies' after all."

"Are you giving me permission to kill him simply because of that?" The servant thinks his master must be simpleminded.

"I'd prefer having a contract with him," admits the master, "but."

He pauses.

"It's up to you. If it would make you happy."

The servant is taken aback. The man really is a simpleton.

"This might be... the first time I've seen you smile so big." The master himself grins. "It's cute."

The servant's mind can't handle anymore of the master's nonsense.

"I'd like to see it more."

Very flattering nonsense. He couldn't understand it.

"...I can't help but want to deny him everything." The archer admits.  
Karna makes him turn completely dark inside. He hopes the lancer never comes to contract his master.

"Then I give you permission to do that." The master's expression looks soft even as they speak of murder.

The master is much too accepting of him. Perhaps his judgment is untrustworthy, thinks the archer.

He cannot stand himself - the darkness inside his heroic shell, the guilt of the kill which he must now continue to justify, the desire to continue a war which took everything from him. 

"Don't be so hard on yourself." The master says.

\---

Eventually, they go on their outing.

The archer wears his deep blue traveling outfit and his master puts away his Chaldea uniform to wear something more comfortable.

It's a fair.

They eat cotton candy, go on some rides, buy souvenirs. The master catches goldfish for his servant; the archer wins his master a plush toy by shooting bottles with a toy gun. The servant clutches his bags of goldfish and the master hugs the toy to his face.

It's very typical but the archer finds himself laughing easily, just as his master wanted.

At night, the young man clasps his servant's hand and leads him to where they can gaze at the stars as the murmur of the fair fades into the night.

Bonds are troublesome, the archer thinks to himself, but this must be the fate of a servant.

It's not so bad.


End file.
